1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 22nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 3 May, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 27 September.

1970 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1969

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1971

Phil Read (8) finished second at the 1970 Dutch TT

This is the most recent season before 2024 that the Japanese manufacturers failed to score a single win in the premier class.

Season summary

With no other manufacturers competing in the 500cc class the MV Agusta team continued to dominate as Giacomo Agostini won his fifth consecutive 500cc world championship.^[1] Kawasaki began to sell the Kawasaki H1R to privateer racing teams.^[2] The H1R was the first multi-cylinder two stroke racing motorcycle to be sold commercially.^[2] Ginger Molloy rode one of the Kawasakis to a second-place finish behind Agostini in the championship.^[1]

Life was a bit tougher for Agostini in the 350 class as Kel Carruthers and Renzo Pasolini on Benellis and Rod Gould on a factory Yamaha gave him a battle on more than one occasion.^[1] Gould would take the 250 title for Yamaha, battling Carruthers for the entire season.^[1] German Dieter Braun would give Suzuki the 125 crown while Derbi mounted Angel Nieto claimed the 50cc class for the second year in a row.

There were six fatalities among the competitors at the Isle of Man TT races, including world championship contender Santiago Herrero, making 1970 the deadliest year in the history of the event.^[3][4]

1970 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	3 May	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Angel Nieto	John Dodds	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Auerbacher / Hahn	Report
2	17 May	French Grand Prix	Le Mans Bugatti	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Rodney Gould		Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Kalauch	Report
3	24 May	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija Circuit	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Santiago Herrero	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
4	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain		Dieter Braun	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Kalauch	Report
5	27 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Auerbacher / Hahn	Report
6	5 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Aalt Toersen	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould		Giacomo Agostini	Butscher / Huber	Report
7	12 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Aalt Toersen	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
8	19 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit	Aalt Toersen	Gilberto Parlotti	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini		Enders / Engelhardt	Report
9	2 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Dave Simmonds	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Engelhardt	Report
10	15 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit	Angel Nieto		Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Engelhardt	Report
11	13 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Jan de Vries	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
12	27 September	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Salvador Cañellas	Angel Nieto	Kent Andersson	Angelo Bergamonti	Angelo Bergamonti		Report

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. Only the best of six races were counted on 50cc, 125cc, 350cc and 500cc championships, best of seven in 250cc, while in the Sidecars, the best of five races were counted.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine GER FRA YUG MAN HOL BEL DDR FIN ULS NAC ESP Pts 1 Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 90 2 Ginger Molloy Bultaco / Kawasaki 5 2 7 4 16 15 2 2 6 2 62 3 Angelo Bergamonti Aermacchi / MV Agusta 4 2 2 2 1 59 4 Tommy Robb Seeley 3 11 Ret 10 3 10 5 Ret 4 36 5 Alberto Pagani Linto 3 Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret 30 6 Alan Barnett Seeley-Matchless 2 7 Ret 4 Ret 24 7 Christian Ravel Kawasaki 8 Ret 2 5 Ret Ret Ret 8 24 8 Jack Findlay Seeley-Matchless / Seeley-Suzuki Ret Ret 4 4 Ret Ret 12 Ret 4 Ret Ret 24 9 Martti Pesonen Yamaha 7 5 Ret Ret 8 8 7 7 24 10 Peter Williams Matchless 2 7 5 22 11 Roberto Gallina Paton 3 Ret 7 5 20 12 Martin Carney Kawasaki Ret Ret 3 6 6 20 13 Gyula Marsovszky Linto / Kawasaki 11 6 8 9 Ret Ret Ret 4 Ret 18 14 Eric Offenstadt Kawasaki Ret 9 13 7 4 Ret 14 15 John Dodds Linto Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret 12 16 Silvano Bertarelli Kawasaki Ret 3 10 = Bill Smith Kawasaki / Yamaha 3 Ret 10 = Percy Tait Triumph / Seeley-Matchless Ret 3 10 19 Giuseppe Mandolini Moto Guzzi 3 10 20 Dave Simmonds Kawasaki Ret 12 6 12 12 8 Ret 9 10 21 Karl Hoppe Münch-URS / Seeley-URS 4 16 Ret Ret 8 22 Karl Auer Matchless Ret 4 Ret 8 23 Gianpiero Zubani Kawasaki 9 5 8 = John Williams Matchless 5 9 8 25 Godfrey Nash Norton / Manx Ret Ret Ret 11 9 6 7 26 Billie Nelson Paton 9 Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 7 27 Ernst Hiller Kawasaki 8 Ret 7 Ret 7 28 Lewis Young Honda / Matchless Ret Ret 11 Ret 5 Ret Ret 6 29 Brian Steenson Seeley-Matchless 15 5 Ret 6 30 Paul Smart Seeley-Matchless Ret 5 Ret Ret 6 31 Terry Dennehy Honda 10 Ret Ret 13 6 Ret Ret Ret 6 32 Tony Jefferies Matchless 6 Ret 5 = Walter Rungg Aermacchi 6 Ret Ret 5 34 Rob Bron Suzuki 6 5 35 Steve Ellis Linto / Matchless Ret Ret 14 10 Ret 7 5 36 Ron Chandler Seeley-Matchless / Triumph Ret 8 9 Ret 5 37 Selwyn Griffiths Matchless 7 4 38 Gerry Mateer Norton Ret 8 3 39 Brian Adams Norton 8 3 = Giovanni Perrone Kawasaki 8 3 41 Vincent Duckett Seeley-Matchless 9 13 2 42 Hans-Otto Butenuth BMW Ret Ret 9 2 43 Paolo Campanelli Kawasaki Ret 9 2 44 Jean Campiche Honda Ret 10 14 10 Ret 2 45 Gordon Keith Velocette Ret 21 Ret 10 1 46 André-Luc Appietto Paton 10 1 = Charlie Dobson Seeley-Matchless 10 1 = Vasco Loro Norton-Kawasaki 10 1 = Steve Spencer Norton 10 1 50 Werner Bergold Linto / Seeley 14 11 0 51 Malcolm Uphill Suzuki Ret 11 Ret 0 52 Emanuele Maugliani Seeley Ret 11 0 53 Peter Berwick Aermacchi 11 0 = John Burgess Norton Ret 11 0 = Jim Curry Aermacchi 11 0 = Keith Heckles Norton 11 0 57 Heinrich Rosenbusch Linto 12 Ret 14 0 58 Alan Lawton Norton 14 12 0 59 George Fogarty Shepherd 12 17 0 60 Jouko Ryhänen Matchless 12 0 = Frantisek Srna Jawa 12 0 62 Pierre-Louis Tebec Kawasaki 26 13 0 63 Gerhard Heukerott Benelli Ret Ret 13 Ret 0 64 Sven-Olov Gunnarsson Kawasaki 13 Ret 0 65 John Blanchard Seeley 13 0 = Ken Tilley Norton 13 0 = Alo Zanetta Kawasaki 13 0 68 Billy Andersson Matchless / Crescent 39 14 Ret 0 69 Ferdinand Kaczor Seeley-URS 14 Ret 0 70 Harris Healey Norton 14 0 71 Ken Kay Aermacchi 28 15 0 72 Bob Heath BSA Ret 15 0 73 Serge Jamsin Norton 15 0 = Hervé Lansac Kawasaki 15 0 = Norman Price Norton 15 0 76 Maurice Hawthorne Norton / Linto 16 Ret 0 77 Peter Gibson Seeley 16 0 = Cambell Gorman Velocette 16 0 = Terry McDonald Matchless 16 0 80 Jean-Claude Costeux Aermacchi 17 0 = Peter Darvill Higley-Seeley 17 0 = Stephen Millard Matchless 17 0 = Franco Trabalzini Paton 17 0 84 Chris Neve Seeley 34 18 0 85 Bo Granath Husqvarna 18 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 86 Bob Biscardine Norton 18 0 = Arpad Juhos Matchless 18 0 88 Roy Reid Norton 35 19 0 89 Paul Eickelberg Matchless / Norton 19 Ret Ret 0 90 Geoff Barry Oakley-Matchless 19 0 91 John Barton Triumph 20 0 = Nigel Palmer Matchless 20 0 = Harry Turner Norton 20 0 94 Gilbert Argo Matchless 21 0 95 Alois Maxwald Matchless 22 Ret 0 96 Don Grant Norton 22 0 97 Barry Randle Seeley 23 Ret Ret 0 98 Brian Moses Norton 23 0 99 Willi Bertsch Honda 24 0 = Dave Foulkes Norton 24 0 101 Brian Edwards Kettle-Norton 25 0 = Jean-Marie Grandidier Matchless 25 0 103 Brian Swales Norton 26 0 104 Gordon Daniels Matchless 27 0 = Jerry Lancaster Aermacchi 27 0 106 Rudolf Reinhardt BMW 28 0 107 Graham Sharp Petty-Norton 29 0 = Jupp Tröblinger Norton 29 0 109 Don Harris Norton 30 0 = Walfried Weingartner Matchless 30 0 111 Ron Baylie Triumph 31 0 = Ted Janssen Norton 31 0 113 John Pepper Norton 32 0 114 Len Williams Aermacchi 33 0 115 Roger Fursman Norton 36 0 116 Dennis Trollope Norton 37 0 117 Carl Ward Norton 38 0 118 Mick Potter Metisse 40 0 119 Graham Penny Honda 41 0 - Theo Louwes Kawasaki / Matchless Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 - Keith Turner Linto Ret Ret Ret 0 - Cliff Carr Kawasaki Ret Ret 0 - Tom Dickie Kuhn-Seeley Ret Ret 0 - John-Tom Findlay Norton Ret Ret 0 - Robert Graham Matchless / Aermacchi Ret Ret 0 - Pentti Lehtelä Matchless / Yamaha Ret Ret 0 - Renzo Pasolini Benelli Ret Ret 0 - Philippe Schreyer Kawasaki Ret Ret 0 - Stan Adams Seeley Ret 0 - Tom Armstrong Norton Ret 0 - Jim Ashton Matchless Ret 0 - George Barnacle Triumph Ret 0 - Rex Butcher Metisse Ret 0 - Doug Cash Norton Ret 0 - Paul Coombs CRD Ret 0 - Adrian Cooper Norton Ret 0 - John Cooper Seeley Ret 0 - Ake Dahli Kawasaki Ret 0 - Walter Dawson Norton Ret 0 - Charlie Dobson Seeley Ret 0 - Didier Dumesnil Linto Ret 0 - Robin Duffty Norton Ret 0 - Hugh Evans CRD Ret 0 - Derek Filler Norton Ret 0 - Denis Gallagher Seeley Ret 0 - Lou Geeson Triumph Ret 0 - Mick Grant Velocette Ret 0 - Chris Gregory Norton Ret 0 = René Guili Matchless Ret 0 - Osmo Hansen Matchless Ret 0 - Ray Knight CRD Ret 0 - Hannu Kuparinen Matchless Ret 0 - Cliff Lawson Norton Ret 0 - Derek Lee Matchless Ret 0 - Patrick Lefevre Norton Ret 0 = Marty Lunde Crescent Ret 0 - Pat Mahoney Kuhn-Seeley Ret 0 - Percy May Petty-Norton Ret 0 - Ray McCullough Seeley Ret 0 - Gilberto Milani Aermacchi Ret 0 - Malcolm Moffatt Seeley Ret 0 - Mustapha Moulay Paton Ret 0 - Jean-Pierre Naudon Matchless Ret 0 - Garth Neveling Norton Ret 0 - Derryl Pandlebury Norton Ret 0 - Dick Pipes Norton Ret 0 - Harry Reynolds Norton Ret 0 = Jacques Roca Suzuki Ret 0 - Barry Sheene Bultaco Ret 0 - Roy Simmons Norton Ret 0 - John Stanley Seeley Ret 0 - Frantisek Stastny Jawa Ret 0 - Thierry Tchernine Velocette Ret 0 - Rolf Thiemig Ducati Ret 0 - Franco Trabalzini Paton Ret 0 - Tony Turner Norton Ret 0 - Fred Walton Velocette Ret 0 - Charlie Watts Norton Ret 0 - John Wetherall Norton Ret 0 - Benedetto Zambotti Bianchi Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike GER FRA YUG MAN HOL BEL DDR FIN ULS NAC ESP Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

1970 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	90	9
2	Kel Carruthers	7	Australia	Benelli	58	0
3	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	46	0
4	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	44	0
5	Martti Pesonen		Finland	Yamaha	38	0
6	Rodney Gould		United Kingdom	Yamaha	28	0
7	Angelo Bergamonti		Italy	MV Agusta	27	1
8	Günter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	20	0
9	Alan Barnett		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	20	0
10	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Yamaha	18	0

1970 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Rodney Gould	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	102	6
2	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Yamaha	84	4
3	Kent Andersson	2	Sweden	Yamaha	67	1
4	Jarno Saarinen		Finland	Yamaha	57	0
5	Börje Jansson	5	Sweden	Yamaha	34	0
6	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	30	0
7	Gyula Marsovsky		Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0
8	Santiago Herrero	3	Spain	Ossa	27	1
9	Bo Granath		Sweden	Yamaha	25	0
10	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Yamaha	24	0

1970 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Dieter Braun	2	West Germany	Suzuki	84	4
2	Angel Nieto		Spain	Derbi	72	4
3	Börje Jansson		Sweden	Maico	62	0
4	Dave Simmonds	1	United Kingdom	Kawasaki	57	1
5	László Szabó	8	Hungary	MZ	34	0
6	Toni Gruber		West Germany	Maico	33	0
7	Aalt Toersen		Netherlands	Suzuki	31	0
8	John Dodds		Australia	Aermacchi	24	1
9	Gunter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	22	0
10	Heinz Kriwanek		Austria	Rotax	25	0

1970 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Derbi	87	5
2	Aalt Toersen	2	Netherlands	Jamathi	75	3
3	Rudolf Kunz	8	West Germany	Kreidler	66	0
4	Salvador Cañellas		Spain	Derbi	63	1
5	Jan De Vries	4	Netherlands	Kreidler	60	1
6	Jos Schurgers		Netherlands	Kreidler	41	0
7	Martin Mijwaart	10	Netherlands	Jamathi	40	0
8	Ludwig Fassbender	9	West Germany	Kreidler	17	0
9	Gilberto Parlotti	6	Italy	Tomos	15	1
10	Harald Bartol		Austria	Kreidler	11	0

References

1. Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
2. Cathcart, Alan (2019), "Eric Offenstadt's Monocoque Triple", Classic Racer, Mortons Motorcycle Media Group Ltd, ISSN 1470-4463, But for 1970 he decided to take advantage of the arrival of the world's first multi-cylinder two stroke 500 GP customer racer, the Kawasaki H1R triple
3. "World's fastest way to die: The most dangerous race on the planet". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
4. "Two more deaths take Isle of Man TT Festival toll to five". express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

• Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
• "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.